


Fractured and Burned

by 111Oats



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Eventual Romance, Self-Insert, Strong Language, multiple OCs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 10:04:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15883833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/111Oats/pseuds/111Oats
Summary: The gods watch over all timelines and worlds. They watch events play out over and over again, the difference varying between a completely different end and someone not blinking as many times in a minute. Some gods are fine with this. Others prefer to throw a few extra ingredients into the pot and see what happens.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Fire Emblem and its Characters belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. First and last time I'm doing this.
> 
> Forewarning, these first few chapters are gonna suck, because I wrote them years ago as part of a fic in never planned to finish. That said, my writing has improved vastly since then, so please just push through the bad ones.

I woke up with a gasp. One thing to note is that the bare ground was not the most comfortable place to sleep. In fact, I don't remember sleeping on the ground. Or being in an open grassy field. Last I checked, I was relaxing on my couch, phone in hand. Sure, it was late, and I may have dozed off, but I sure as hell was not in a field!

!I ran a hand through my dark curly hair, only to find something in the way. Taking whatever it is off of my head, I saw that I was donning a headband with a metal plate in the middle. "Hmm. Yep, definitely do not remember buying you." Looking down at myself, I saw that I am definitely not wearing my clothes. I didn't remember owning a tunic, pauldron, or a…wait, is that a sword? Drawing the blade, more questions came to my mind, though I could definitely confirm that it was a sword. The most prominent of those aforementioned questions? "What the hell?"!

I had never cosplayed before, so this was new to me. At least, I assume this is cosplay. I didn't wear headbands or tunics, normally, and I sure as hell do not wear a sword on my waist. Although…do cosplayers use real swords? Because this sword was pretty heavy. The blade was sharp, too. If I didn't know any better, I would have said this was a genuine sword. Sheathing the blade, it made the shhhnickt that I had always wanted to hear.

Despite the cool new sword I'd acquired, I was still lost and didn't know what happened. A town was nearby, so my best bet for answers likely lay in there. The walk to town was quiet and peaceful, though I wished my mind wasn't swarming with questions so I could enjoy it.

None of the townspeople seemed to even notice me walking about. Strange, considering that I had what appeared to be an actual sword swinging from my hip. Also, their clothes seemed a bit outdated. T-shirts or shorts in the middle of summer? Nope. Here they apparently liked to where tunics like my own and dresses, all of which came in plain colors. "Hey, miss," I said, walking up to a woman carrying a woven basket. "I'm a little lost. Do you mind telling me where I am?"

"You're a little ways south of Yllistol, in Southtown." My blood froze. Southtown? Yllistol? Those are both cities in Ylisse, the fictional country of Fire Emblem Awakening.

"Awwwwwww, SHIT." Excitement and fear both buzzed within me. Either this was a dream, or—nope, do not jump there quite yet. This was probably just a dream. How did I wake myself up? Pinch myself? That usually worked right? I pinched my arm and the woman I was talking to looked at me, obviously confused. Nothing happened. Closing my eyes, I tried again, hopeful.

I opened my eyes to see the woman staring at me, eyes narrowed. "Are you okay?"

"Um…" Not a dream then? I could only assume that, by process of elimination, I was actually in the world of Fire Emblem Awakening. "I don't know."

She frowned. "Come with me." She led me to a house nearby. Once inside, she sat me at a small wooden table. "Would you like some tea?" she asked, and I nodded. As the woman walked in to a different room, I started thinking. I was in Southtown, and it didn't look as if it'd been raided yet, so the bandits had yet come here yet. God, this was strange. Or, Gods, I suppose it would be now, yeah? I grasped the sword at my side. It must have be iron, based on the looks of it. At least when the bandits attacked, I would have a way to defend myself. Well, I would, but I didn't know how to properly wield a sword.

Maybe I could serve as a distraction for the Shepherds when they arrived. Oh, that's right. The Shepherds. Did I want to join them? Could I even? I guess that was a question for later. I was going to need an identity. Slim white kid from Minnesota was probably not going to cut it in Ylisse.

Although, looking down at myself, "slim white kid" wasn't even accurate. Jumping between worlds seemed to have bulked me up a bit. Well, more than a bit. I was built. I don't think I was any taller, but the muscle was hard to miss.

Footsteps snapped me from my self-admiration. The woman had returned with tea. "So what is your name," she asked, sitting down across from me.

"Zach," I blurted, not thinking. Shit, should I have used my real name? It was probably best that I did. Otherwise, I would probably have just complicated shit later.

"Nice to meet you," the woman said, smiling politely. "I am—"

She was cut off by a scream, then shouting. We both looked at one another before standing up and running outside. Several shirtless men with skulls on their heads were swinging axes around, cutting down anybody unlucky enough to be in their way. Smoke was in the air, and I looked to see that fire was spreading from building to building. How did they manage to set everything on fire so quickly? I couldn't have been in that house for more than five minutes! As another person was cleaved in half, my morals kicked in.

I had a sword. I could help. I took a deep breath and ran towards the nearest bandit, drawing my sword as I close in. The barbarian was standing over a man, raising his axe to finish the poor guy off. Before he could deliver the blow, I stabbed my sword through his back. The bandit dropped his axe, and his arms to his sides. I yanked my sword from his chest, the blade slicked with blood.

The bandit dropped to the ground, and I tried to push away the thought that I ended a man's life. I could have disarmed him! I felt the urge to vomit, placing my hand over my mouth instinctually. I barely noticed the villager thank me for saving him before he ran off. I stepped away from the body, blood now pooling around it, and suppressed a gag. "Oh, God."

I heard a shout, and turned to see another barbarian rushing me. Before I could react, I heard a woman shout, "Thunder!" before a bolt of lightning collided with the bandit, knocking him to the ground. I looked to the direction that it came from and saw a small group of people running towards me. It only took me a moment to realize that the Shepherds were here. Chrom slowed down once he reached me.

"Are you okay?" He asked, but a glance at the body at my feet answered his question. "Did you kill him?" I nodded. "Your first time, I take it?"

"Milord, I—"

"Frederick." Chrom put a hand up to silence the knight. "Listen to me," the prince said, turning to me once more. "There are more pressing things at hand. Help us take care of the rest of these bandits. There will be time to be sick later. Understood?" His hands gripped my shoulder, shaking me lightly. I nodded, once more.

He was right. Saving this town came first. I took another deep breath and slapped myself twice on the cheek. "Alright, get your shit together, Zach." My hand shifted on the hilt of my sword. Chrom gave me a quick grin before running off and waving for Frederick to follow him. Lissa asked me if I was alright, and I assured her that I was, even if I wasn't sure that it was true.

She ran ahead as well, the hooded tactician following behind. "It's kill or be killed," I muttered under my breath. I surveyed the battlefield, and saw Robin clashing blades with a myrmidon. The myrmidon was obviously more skilled with the blade however, and pushed the tactician back. No one else wasa near enough to help, and they're dealing with their own targets.

I ran towards the tactician, who seemed to realize their own plight. As I drew closer, the bandit managed to knock Robin's weapon away, kicking them in the chest. The tactician fell to the ground, stunned, and the myrmidon raised his sword. "Fuck," I cursed, and put more speed in my step. The myrmidon was about to bring down his blade when I arrived, intercepting it and blocking it with my own.

He was startled to see me, and I was a little surprised that I made it in time to block his swing. His shock wore off quickly, however, and he hopped back, returning to his ready stance. Automatically, I fell into a stance, as well. I gripped my sword with both hands, levelling it with my eyes, parallel to my face. I was slightly crouched, ready to move in any direction.

Huh. Jumping worlds seemed to have given me more than new muscles. I realized with a start that, not only did I have skill with a sword, but my stance mirrored that of the myrmidon in front of me. Wait, was I a myrmidon?

I didn't know how long we were standing there, but my foe grew tired of waiting, as he dashed forward, swinging in an overhead slash. Just as quickly as he attacked, I blocked his strike like before, and pushed him off. He jumped back again and I heard Robin stand up behind me. I paid them no mind, running forward to catch the bandit. I lunged forward in a stab, which he sidestepped. He swung high, aiming for my neck, so I rolled underneath and swung towards his ankles.

My iron sword caught him in the calf and he cried out. I yanked my weapon out of his leg and followed up with a vertical slash from below. The myrmidon attempted to block it, but my attack knocked his weapon away. Left defenseless and stunned, I was able to simply club him in the temple with my pommel and knock him out.

"There," I breathed, satisfied with my victory. I didn't need to kill them if I could just keep knocking them out. I knew it wouldn't always work, though, so I would have to get used to killing eventually. Dismissing the thought, I turned to the tactician behind me.

Instead of a hooded figure, I saw a pretty young woman with snow-white twin-tails looking back at me. "Thank you for that," she said, offering an infectious smile.

"Don't mention it," I say. I looked for Chrom and Frederick, and found them disposing of the remaining bandits: a mage and another myrmidon. "It seems like we're done here." As soon as I said that, however, the church across the bridge erupted in flames, and one more bandit stepped out the front door, a pack of axes slung over his shoulder.

"Here, sheepy sheepy!" he called. "Come to the slaughter!"

"Oh, shit," I muttered. I recognized the lines. It seemed like Garrick was preoccupied in the church this time. I looked at Robin only to see her running to Chrom, as the prince, princess and knight made their way towards the bandit leader. I followed. "Wait," I called, running up, as well, and all four of them turned towards me. "This guy looks dangerous," I warned, unsure of how to word the sentence to make it sound less suspicious. "And that axe he is using looks light. I am willing to bet he can throw it, so watch out."

Robin nodded, taking my warning into account. I could see the gears turning in her head, formulating a plan. I look at Garrick, and he grinned madly. He just stared back at us, tossing his hand axe from hand to hand. The fact that he was cocky enough to wait for us made me uneasy. "Alright," Robin said abruptly, thankfully interrupting my train of thought. "Chrom, you and—"she turned to me "—what's your name?"

"Zach."

She nodded. "You and Zach get up close. I will be shooting him with thunder while you two engage him directly. Frederick, you will help me keep the boss on his toes. Lissa will stay in the back and provide healing when necessary." We all nodded, and Robin sheathed her sword. "Then let's finish this."

Chrom and I ran forward, swords raised. Garrick laughed madly and readied his axe. Chrom went for a quick horizontal slash as we got close, and I went for a vertical one. Garrick was more skilled than the rest of the barbarians here, that much was obvious. He avoided my attack and blocked Chrom with his axe. The bandit retaliated immediately, punching me in the face with his free hand and pushing Chrom off. My ears were ringing and I was stunned for a moment, but I could hear the clang of metal as Garrick blocked a drive-by stab from Frederick. He was unable to stop, however, the bolt of lightning that slammed into his shoulders, singing the flesh.

Garrick snarled and flings an axe at Robin. "No you don't," I said, knocking the axe out of the air with my sword. He was good, better than I ever remembered him being. The fact that he can hold off all four of us at once was insane. But he couldn't do it forever, and I could see the battle tolling on him. He was breathing heavily by the time he reached for another axe. This would be over before much longer.

I lunged at him with my sword, narrowly missing as I heard Robin cast another Thunder spell. The spell stunned him, and Chrom took the opportunity to slash at him, Falchion catching him in the thigh and cutting to the bone.

This was the opening we needed, I realized and readied my sword. I felt something surge through me, and shouted, "It's too late for you!" I jumped into the air, bringing my sword down in a spinning flourish. I cleaved completely through Garrick, blood fanning out from where his body was now bisected. I turned away, my curiosity to see if his top half slid to the ground overpowered by my nausea at the bandit leader's gruesome death by my hand.

I took a moment to gather myself, taking deep breaths. "Are you alright?" I heard Chrom ask.

"Yeah, just… I'm just not used to the killing and that was…" I trailed off. I thought he understood what I was saying.

"That was amazing," Robin said, walking up and placing a hand on my shoulder.

"That isn't what I would call it," I said, but I give a small smile. She was right. That whole spinny deal was pretty damn cool, now that I thought about it. That one-liner wasn't half-bad either. Wait, was that a critical quote? Did I crit the first boss? "But you're right. I was pretty cool, huh?"

She smiled at me as I flick the blood off of my sword and return it to its sheath. "Well, that's the end of that," she said, and I saw some villagers cautiously emerging from their homes. Of course when she said it, no big bad boss came out of hiding. I couldn't complain, though.

"Lucky for the town, we were close by. But holy wow, Robin!" Lissa cheered. "You were incredible! Swords, sorcery, AND tactics! Is there anything you can't do?"

Robin blushed a little at the compliments, smiling shyly. "Well, I don't think I could pull off that spinning slash that Zach did." She and Lissa both looked at me and I could feel my grin spread, heat rising to my face, as well.

"You're certainly no helpless victims, that's for sure," Chrom said, sheathing Falchion. Oh shiiiit, I needed a backstory fast! I knew what was next.

"Indeed. Perhaps you might even be capable of an explanation for how the two of you came here?"

"I understand your skepticism, Sir Frederick," Robin said, frowning. "And I cannot explain why only some knowledge has returned to me. But please," she begged, "believe me. I have shared all that I know."

Frederick leveled his suspicious gaze at me, making me feel more uncomfortable than I had ever felt before. Come up with some bullshit quick! "And what about you, swordsman?"

"I, uh, I come from Valm. A town west of the Demon's Ingle." Heeeeey, not bad. Actually sounded believable. Frederick opens his mouth to question me further, but Chrom silenced him with a wave of his hand.

"They fought to save Yllisean lives," the prince said. "My heart says that's enough."

"And your mind, milord?" Frederick folded his arms behind his back, frowning. "Will you now heed its council as well?"

"Frederick," Chrom said, voice low. Even the trustworthy prince could get sick of Frederick's paranoia, it seemed. "The Shepherds could use someone with Robin's talents and Zach's skill with the blade, if they'll join us. We've brigands and unruly neighbours, all looking to bloody our soil. Would you really have us lose such able members? Besides," he sighed, "I believe Robin's story, odd as it might be."

"Th-thank you, Chrom," Robin said, bowing a little. I bowed and gave my thanks, as well.

"So how about it?" Chrom asked, a friendly grin spreading across his face. "Will you join us Robin? Zach?"

"I would be honoured," Robin said.

I feigned a sigh, a wide grin betraying my sarcasm. "I suppose I will, too," I said.

Frederick wasn't happy. He gave both Robin and I a suspicious glance out of the corner of his eye, but turned away when he decided to change to subject. "Did you notice, milord?" Frederick asked, adjusting the saddle on his horse and tying his lance to it. "The brigands spoke with a Plegian accent."

"Plegian?" Robin asked, head cocked slightly to the side. "What's that?"

"Plegia is Ylisse's westerly neighbor," Chrom said with a scowl. "They send small bands into our territory, hoping to spark a war." He shook his head disdainfully.

Lissa's lips were pressed into a pouty frown. "And it's the poor townsfolk who suffer!" she whined, swinging her arms in frustration. "Totally innocent, totally helpless…"

I ignored the rest of what they were saying. Hearing the scripted dialogue time and again made it boring to hear, even in "real" life. I looked at Robin, who had her hands in her pockets, a small smile on her face as she watched the Ylissean trio bicker. "Hey," I said, getting her attention. "What did you mean earlier when you said that only some knowledge has returned to you?" I had to get this out of the way so if I mentioned it later, miss smarty tactician over here wouldn't get on my case for knowing unknown information.

"Oh," she said. "I have no memories." I blink. I am a little surprised how casually she referred to her condition. "All I have been able to remember is my name, Chrom's name, and the skills I exhibited earlier."

I nodded, rubbing my chin for emphasis. "I see why Frederick is suspicious of you."

"Are you two ready to go?" Chrom called, grabbing our attention. Lissa was riding with Frederick on his horse, leaving the rest of us to walk.

"Yeah, sure." I was not looking forward to sleeping on the ground, especially without a blanket or something similar. "I have just one question." Chrom paused. "Where are we going?"

"Ylisstol," he answered. "The capitol of Ylisse. Don't worry, it isn't far." We took off, leaving the town with little more than a parting wave. I was a little more hesitant than the rest of them. Leaving Southtown with the Shepherds was going to put my life in danger more times than I would be able to count, but it was better than waiting for nothing. Besides, if I helped them beat this "game", then maybe I could go back home.


	2. Chapter 1: Unwelcome Change

We set up camp in the middle of the woods. Frederick was tasked with hunting, while Robin and Chrom gathered firewood. That means that Lissa and I were left to watch over our things.

While we waited, I tried to wrap my mind around the recent occurrences. The first bombshell was my induction into Fire Emblem. I was having trouble processing this. It just didn't feel real. I mean, I KNEW that it was, but I didn't know how to feel about it. I couldn't see my friends or family, and it would be awful, but if I beat the game, I should be able to go back, right? Although, that wouldn't be for another two or three years, and I didn't even know if I'd want to go back at that point. I suppressed this worry. It's unhealthy, I know, but as of now, I didn't know what to do about it.

The second issue: I had killed two people. Both times the nausea had almost made me throw up. It was awful. I realized now that, looking back on the first kill, I could feel him go limp before I pulled my sword out. They probably had families. I mean, I knew that they were bandits but they were still people, and who was I to force them out of this world? Yes, they were criminals, but I was not the one to convict them. I am just some kid who found himself in a video game. I sigh loudly, startling Lissa. Again, this was something I was going to have to get help for. I didn't think I could deal with it on my own.

Luckily, the other three showed up soon. Chrom and Robin found enough wood for a large fire, while Frederick showed up carrying a fucking bear, like the man-beast that he is. Didn't know how he killed the bear, didn't know how he's carrying it, and I didn't want to. Robin and Lissa seemed just as surprised as I do, especially when the knight managed to fashion a spit strong enough to hold it, as well as start the fire underneath the beast. "Gods, you're a monster, Frederick," I muttered.

We sat around the fire, Chrom and Lissa bickering about something while Frederick tended to the bear. I stared into the fire, listening to it crackle and pop. I admit, I'd wanted to try bear for a while, so this was a prime opportunity. It smelled great, and I couldn't wait. Robin was sitting next to me, and I suspect she was looking forward to the bear more than I was, what with the manic look in her eye as she stared greedily at the animal. "Hungry, are we?" I say with a smile.

The tactician blinks and struggles to regain her composure, clearing her throat. "Um, yes, I… It smells really good." As fast as her composure came, it leaves again, and Robin was practically drooling as she waited for the food to be done.

I grinned and shook my head. It was hard to believe that this is the same woman who would lead us against Plegia, then Valm, and later the Fell Dragon. I had to remind myself that that isn't for a long time yet, and she was a human, as well. When the time came, I trusted in her to make the right decision.

I groaned and tentatively rubbed my aching gut. I ate too much bear. Chrom was in a similar plight as I, while Lissa and Frederick had yet to take a sizeable bite. Meanwhile, Robin was practically inhaling the food. "How the hell can you still eat?" I asked, astounded that the tactician could put it all away.

"Mmmfmmmph uhmmm phmmm!" Nothing audible came out of her mouth as she tried to speak through a mouthful of bear.

I ignored her food gibberish. "Honestly, you're so small but you can eat as much as three of me! Explain, tactician."

"Mmmph. Mmmhmm phmm hmm." Whatever she said must have been clever, because she looked pretty pleased with herself for saying it. I just scoffed and shook my head at her. Chrom looked on with a small smile while Lissa scowled at her food. Frederick merely stood over Lissa, pestering her to eat the food while she frowned.

"Quite a group I've found," I said, barely loud enough for myself to hear. I lay down on my back and sighed, staring up into the night sky. The stars looked the same, but I'm no astrologist. Just about any starry sky would look the same to me.

But soon, this peaceful night sky would be torn open, wouldn't it? Walking corpses would fall from the eye in the sky, followed by the beloved future princess. Ugh, you know, one reason I was glad that Robin is a woman is that she couldn't canonically pair with Lucina. I am sick of seeing Robin x Lucina, so that was a relief.

Another question popped into my mind. Were we on Classic? I assumed, just in case. Didn't want to go dying early. Say, what difficulty were we on? I mean, it felt like that was easier than it should have been earlier, but Garrick had also put up a hell of a better fight than I ever remembered him doing. I hoped I wasn't on Lunatic. Otherwise, I hoped Robin could put that beautiful brain of hers to work.

I looked back at her. She was out, hand on her chest and white hair splayed out, her chest rising and falling slowly with her breathes. Sometime during my little monologue, the white haired tactician passed out, and I found my eyes lingering longer than they should have. Lissa was out too, I saw, and Chrom seemed to be dozing. Frederick, however, was vigilant. The knight was staring into the fire with the slightest smile. Huh, you know, I forgot he was obsessed with fire.

I didn't want to go to sleep. I knew that I would be woken up in a few hours, and then I would just be more tired than I was at the moment. My body, however, thought that sleep sounded grand. My eyes slowly closed, and I found myself unwilling to fight it. Maybe sleep isn't so bad, I decided, drifting into a dreamless nap.

It sounded like a combination of thunder and an explosion. My eyes snapped open and I bolted upright. Sure as hell, the giant sky-ball was puking up Risen and the forest was melting. Chrom and Lissa were missing, too.

Frederick was on me before I could process it. "Where are milord and milady?" he asked, voice dark and threatening as he shook me by my shoulders.

I shrugged his hands off of me. "Your guess is as good as mine," I answered, pushing him away. "Get looking, Mr. Knight. I'll wake Robin." He was hesitant, but nodded and mounted his horse, running ahead. I looked at the tactician. Somehow, she had managed to sleep through the sound of the ground breaking. "Robin, wake up!" I yelled, shaking her vigorously. She awakened with a gasp, eyes wide and panicked.

Robin looked around, taking in the situation. "What's happening? Where is everybody?"

"Frederick ran off to find Chrom and Lissa. Now come on, we need to catch up. I think they might be in trouble." The tactician nodded and I pulled her to her feet.

"Any idea where they went?" She asked, grabbing her tome from the ground next to her.

"No, but Frederick ran this way." We both ran the same direction as the knight. Hopefully, he had gone a fairly straight path and had already found the siblings. The fire had yet to spread to the trees near us, so it was all still dark. I could see little more than the glow of the flames ahead. "Robin, are you still there?" I felt a hand grasp my wrist, and almost panicked before the tactician spoke.

"Yes, I'm still with you."

Gods, it was still so loud. Why had the earth not stopped breaking yet? Maybe the cinematic was still going on. Frederick seemed to have torn through a portion of forest in his desperation, which, I can't say I minded. Even without the trail, it would have been easy to find our way, but the trampled plants made traversal easier. I heard a rustle behind us, and whirled around to see a purple-fleshed fighter about to swing his axe at Robin.

"Robin, watch out!" I shouted, catching the Risen's axe blade with my sword. Damn, thank God I was quick on the draw. That had been too close. I kicked the monster away and gave it a quick slice across the stomach. The cut was deep enough to open up his guts, and his entrails spilled out a little, but the Risen was unfazed, coming at us again. A bright light flashed next to me before the zombie was hit with Thunder.

"That's the second time you've saved me," Robin said. I smiled and dismissed it with a wave. "What was that thing?"

"I don't know," I lied. "But I think there are more of them. Let's go."

Robin nodded and we ran into a burning area. This place looked like the hardest hit, with cracks in the ground leaking lava and fire spreading fast. The trees were less sparse, thankfully. I recognized this area when I saw a couple of shabby stone-walled buildings. This must have been where the battle in-game took place. Some more Risen were shambling from the other sides of the field, which is covered in lava and fissures. It looked like A LOT more than in the game which, while making more sense, was significantly more worrying. I looked around, seeing Chrom standing protectively by Lissa and Frederick running up to them. "Look, it's Chrom." I pointed to the pair and we ran up to them, getting there just after Frederick. "Chrom!" I called, waving to him.

"Milord! Milady! Are you hurt?" Frederick fussed, dismounting his horse.

"Frederick! Robin! Zach!" Lissa let out a relieved sigh. Good to see you care, Princess. I grinned, but hid it due to the gravity of the situation.

"Are such horrific creatures commonplace in these lands?" Robin asked.

"They're not from Ylisse, I promise you that." Chrom was eyeing them cautiously, Falchion drawn.

"No one is injured, then?" Frederick asked, visibly eased. "Thank the gods…"

"Thank the masked man who saved me!" Lissa interjected. "If it wasn't for him, I'd be…Wait, where did he go?" She whirled her head back and forth, searching for Lucina.

"Don't worry about that now, Lissa," I said. "We have more important matters at hand." Frederick nodded, and it seemed like I finally gained some respect from him. All of us moved closer to the enemies, taking cover in some of the trees around us.

"Are those…"

"Abandoned forts, yes," Frederick whispered.

Robin nodded. "Then we should take shelter in them when we can. We can funnel them through the door, one at a time. It will make dealing with these…things easier." Robin ordered Chrom, Lissa and Frederick to hide in one of the forts, while she and I take cover in the other. Running into the fort, I saw that some of the Risen take notice of us and pick up the pace.

When we got inside, I saw why the fort was abandoned. It had no ceiling, for one, and the walls were full of holes. Not ideal for a military outpost, but it would do for now. "They saw us," I said, placing my back to the wall next to the door.

"Good," Robin said, "That's what I was counting on." She stood a few yards away from the door, tome open and hand outstretched. I heard a yell, though it sounded more like a strangled roar. The Risen were coming closer. I took my place next to Robin and leveled my sword with my eye. Ko Gasumi, anyone? The first Risen took me by surprise, charging in with his axe raised.

Robin zapped him with Thunder, and I lunged in for the kill. My sword pierced through the fighter's chest, and he dissolved into purple smoke. The scent of rotten flesh assailed my nose when I inhaled the smoke, and I recoiled, gagging. "Fuck, that's disgusting."

"Be ready," Robin said, and I backed up, raising my sword again.

"Do yourself a favor," I said, "and don't breathe in the smoke."

The tactician nodded with a small smile, before returning to her stoic gaze toward the doorway. Two Risen, one fighter and one that looked like a mercenary tried to run in at the same time, getting stuck on one another. Behind them, I could see more of the undead trying to pile in. Robin shot the fighter with Thunder, pushing him back enough for the merc to squeeze through. He charged and swung blindly, almost hitting Robin. She managed to step out of the way, only her cloak getting nicked. She quickly shot him and I finished him off with a slash, remembering to not inhale until the smoke dissipated. The rest of the Risen outside began to funnel in, and Robin's plan worked perfectly.

I hacked and slashed as they enter, and Robin finished them off. We worked in tandem for ages, sweat soaking me. Other than the fatigue, we were undeterred. That is, until something struck my shoulder. "Ah, Fuck," I cursed, looking to see an arrow sticking out of my shoulder. I forgot they had archers! "Cover me," I shouted, and Robin doubled up on the Thunder. I could tell that it was wearing on her. Her breathing was laboured, and I could see the sweat glistening on her face.

I had to be quick. Luckily, the arrow went all the way through. I broke off the feathered end, but I knew that I shouldn't remove it until Lissa could heal me. I had trouble seeing, but the occasional flash from Thunder gave me enough light to see that it wasn't bleeding too badly right now. I could keep fighting. I waited for another Risen to enter, sprinting and slamming him into the wall. I finished him with a stab before hopping out of the doorway. I heard something whistling and lookup to see a volley of arrows falling at us. I thought they all missed, but then Robin cried out. I looked to see an arrow buried in her thigh. "Fuck." We had to get out of this fort. It had lost its advantage now that the archers found us. "Push through!" I shouted. "We need to find a way out."

"Right. Keep them busy for a second." Robin struggled to stand up straight, closing her eyes and holding both her tome and hand out in front of her. Whatever she was doing, she had to hurry.

With a growl, I moved in front of the door. Thank god—er, the gods—for the myrmidon's inherent speed. I cut through the Risen, slicing them apart before they can counterattack. When I failed to kill one, I was quick enough to avoid it or let it glide off of my sword. I heard Robin shout, "MOVE," and looked back to her. "Here's how it's done!" she said, before spinning in a circle and swinging her hand. I recognized the critical quote and jumped out of the way. A crackling ball of electricity flew from her hand and exploded, knocking all of the Risen away from the door, leaving the majority dead.

"Let's go," the tactician said, limping towards the door. I finished off the remaining Risen, and then offered Robin assistance. "Thanks," she said, throwing her arm over my shoulder. Sully and Virion were here. Sully was riding around, spearing the walking dead as she zoomed past, the archer riding with her and launching arrows at distant foes. I didn't see the archers anywhere, so those two must have killed them off. I looked to the other fort and saw Chrom executing a crippled Risen. Lissa was riding atop Frederick's horse while the knight jammed his lance through two Risen at once.

"It seems like they fared better than we did," I said, smirking. Robin gave a small laugh.

"Good," she said, struggling to keep her breathing steady. "I was worried about them. I suppose I should have worried about us a little more, huh?"

"It's fine," I said. This battle isn't over yet, though. More Risen were clambering toward us, and I thought I saw the leader among them, wielding his hand axe. One of them was dragging a hammer, too. I should have told Robin to keep Frederick away from—

The tactician stumbled, but I caught her before she hit the ground. "Robin!" She didn't respond, and I tensed up. I placed my ear next to her mouth. Soft breathing tickled my ear and I pulled away. I thought she just passed out. I shifted my grip on her and lifted her up, carrying her. "Chrom!" The prince heard me and ran our way.

"What happened?" he asked.

"She passed out. I think using too much magic really drained on her. The arrow in her leg can't be helping," I said, nodding toward the wound.

Chrom frowned, obviously troubled by this. There was another emotion on his face that I couldn't read, and he turned away. "Let's get her to Lissa." Good idea, princey. Chrom called to his sister and Frederick, who rode toward us. Lissa hopped off of the horse and jogged over to me. Chrom climbed onto the horse and rode toward the remaining foes with Frederick.

"Stay away from that hammer, Fred!" I warned, and the knight raised a hand in acknowledgement. Lissa asked me the same question that Chrom did as I set Robin on the ground, and I gave the same answer.

Lissa nodded. "I need to get this arrow out," she said, tentatively touching around the wound. Her saying that reminded me of my own arrow wound. I touched my arm, wincing when I hit the arrow. The princess twisted the arrow slightly, and then nodded, before pulling it out quickly. Blood spurted and I looked away. Lissa snagged her staff and held it to the wound. A light green glow emanated from the jeweled head and my curiosity gets the better of me as I watched the skin around the wound knitted itself back together. I frowned and looked away once again. "You're next," she said standing up and dusting herself off.

"Do you want me to pull the arrow out?" I asked, and she nodded. I gripped the arrow, grit my teeth, and puuuuuulled it out as quickly as I could. It came free and I dropped it, groaning.

"Now hold still," Lissa said and held her staff up. The glow came again, and I looked away from my own wound. I didn't like the look of the flesh coming together like that. When it actually happened, I grimaced. It almost hurt, but more than anything, it itched. You know when you have a cut or something? And it itches? Okay, think of that, and multiply it by like, I don't know, twelve to fifteen bug bites.

"Fuuuuuuuuck," I hissed, waiting for this sensation to end. Lissa giggled and put down her staff.

"All done. Now get back to fighting," the princess cheered and slapped my newly healed arm, notifying me that it was going to be sore. Also, that hurt. She's right, though, and I charged heroically (not really) into the fray once more. Frederick was soloing the Chief while Chrom dealt with the hammer wielder. Chrom was having no trouble, that much I could tell. The fighter had a huge wind up before his swing, so Chrom took the opportunity to do a spinning slash and decapitate his foe early. Frederick was having more trouble.

The Risen Chief wouldn't let him get a hit in, hooking away Fred's lance and retaliating. I ran behind Frederick and shouted, "Tag me in!" I raised my hand and the knight humoured me, high-fiving me. The Chief was not entertained, throwing his axe at me as I ran at him. I rolled out of the way and drew my sword.

Now, I am not generally arrogant, but as a fighter, this guy was fucked against a myrmidon such as I. In comparison, this Risen moved like a snail. I slashed his leg, and he roared. He didn't seem fazed by the injury, so I slashed again, this time completely cleaving his arm off. The appendage turned to smoke before it hit the ground, and only seemed to serve in making the Risen furious. The chief roared again, slamming his axe down at me. I hopped out of the way and cleaved his weapon arm off, too. Defenseless, the corpse actually tried to bite me, lunging forward, jaws gaping. I met him with a stab to the throat, and, taking a page from Ezio's book, spun around and ripped my sword out in a reverse-grip.

I had to hide a smirk as I walked away, just imagining how badass I looked. Hehe! Man, that felt cool to do. Frederick nodded to me as he turned and rode back to Lissa, and I realized something. I had killed both of the first bosses. Maybe I should have let someone else take the kill next time. I didn't know how levels worked, or if there even were levels, but I imagined that this boss experience could have been useful to someone besides me.

Actually, where was everybody else? I looked to see them all talking to Lucin—er, Marth over by Lissa. Shit, I was missing dialogue. I ran up as "Marth" gave his cryptic message before departing.

"Huh? What's teetering where now?" I heard Lissa say as Miss Edgy sauntered off into the woods. "Hey, wait!"

"Not much conversation, is he?" Oh! Robin was awake.

"It appears his skills lie elsewhere. I wager we'll hear his name again…" You had no idea Frederick. "But for now," the knight continued, "I'm more concerned about the capital. We should make haste." With that, he hoisted Lissa onto his horse and started off, Chrom following behind. I helped Robin up off of the ground, happy to see her awake.

"Thank you," she said.

"No problem," I said, waving for her to get a move one. "Let's go. The others are getting ahead of us." The tactician nodded, but stumbled a little when she stepped forward. She caught herself, but I grabbed her anyway, flashing back to when she passed out earlier. "You good?"

"I'm fine," she said, looking up at me. I was just now noticing that she was quite a bit shorter than I was. "Let's go." She gave me a reassuring look, but I couldn't help but worry. The others were quite a ways ahead of us, however, so we headed out. We jogged to catch up to the others, who seemed to have not noticed our absence. As we walked, I stuck close to our tactician. If she fell again, I would be there to catch her.

I didn't know what happened if she dies, because I was fairly certain that I was not getting any resets, so I was going to make sure both she and Chrom stayed safe, even if that meant catching a fainting tactician every time she fell.

"What happened to me back there?" Robin was staring at her feet as she walked. "I remember we got out of the fort, but after that…I woke up next to Lissa."

"Oh," I said. "You passed out. I don't know why—I just figured you used too much magic. I carried you to Lissa, and she healed the two of us up. You know the rest."

She nodded, and thanked me. I thought I was beginning to sense a pattern. We walked in relative silence for the remainder of the trip. Every once in a while I casted a glance Robin's way to a make sure she was alright before looking forward again. She made it to Ylisstol without collapsing again, so my concern was in vain. I couldn't say I like being concerned about somebody. Too much stress.

The city was beautiful. The outskirts of the city weren't much of a spectacle, but the farther in you got, the nicer it became. The streets were clean, houses and buildings even cleaner. I couldn't name a particular style that the buildings were built in, but some structures included pillars similar to those in Roman architecture, and others had a charming plant growth along them, such as vines and flower bushes. The streets weren't crowded, but they weren't empty either. The people all seemed happy, talkative, and polite.

None of them seemed too shocked or surprised that the Prince and Princess were walking the streets, either. Although I supposed that it was a common deal with these two royals.

"Wow," I heard Robin gasp, and I smiled. "So this is Ylisstol, capital of Ylisse… I've never seen so many people!" How she knew that, I couldn't tell you.

"It appears the capital was spared the chaos we encountered, thank the gods," Frederick breathed. "I see no evidence of the great quake. It must've been limited to the forest." I didn't understand how absolutely nobody else in the world heard the earthquake of saw the lava spewing from the earth. What were the chances?

"That's a relief," Lissa said.

I opened my mouth to speak when some old dude shouted, "Look! The exalt has come to see us!" Our little troop looked where the man was pointing to see a group of guards marching through the streets, a woman in green robes standing amongst them. People parted for Emmeryn and her guards, but didn't attempt to contain their excitement.

"Wow," I said, "Pretty good timing, isn't it? It's almost like it's scripted." I earned a confused look from Chrom and Lissa, while Robin was enamored by the exalt's immaculacy. Frederick began informing Robin about the history of the first exalt, but I ignored him, instead watching as Emmeryn greeted her people with the kindness of a friend, waving and listening to their words. I had to admit, she was beautiful. No one could argue that fact. It was a shame she had to die.

"You said you were 'shepherds!" Robin exclaimed, snapping me back to the present. You know, I never understood how one as bright as Robin couldn't figure out that these two were royalty, what with people saying milord and milady.

"And so we are… in a manner of speaking." Chrom was grinning at the tactician, who was petrified at the moment. "We just tend to a LOT of sheep."

"C-Chrom… I mean, Prince Chrom!" Robin spluttered, breaking out of her stupor and bowing before the prince in the middle of the street, causing Lissa and I to laugh. "Sire! Forgive my dreadful manners!"

"Just Chrom is fine," he assured. "I've never been much for formalities."

"Now stand up," I said, pulling the mind-blown tactician to her feet. "You're causing a bigger scene than they are." Chrom chuckled and I thought I even saw Frederick crack a small smile.

Robin was mumbling as I pull her up. "The princess and princess… That explains why Frederick tolerates the teasing, isn't it? OH—"she smacked herself on the forehead. "That's why he calls you milord and milady—WHY AM I SO DENSE?" Hey, she figured it out on her own! Good job, Robin.

"It looks like Emm is returning to the palace," Chrom said. "Would you like to meet her?" He offered a smile so charming even I am stunned.

"Sounds like an honour," I said, and Robin agreed.

I was still grinning at Robin's outburst by the time we reached the palace, much to her chagrin. "It wasn't that funny," she scowled.

"Keep telling yourself that," I said.

The guards at the palace welcomed Chrom and Lissa, only letting Robin and I in when Chrom said it was fine. The front door led right to the main hall, at the end of which Emm sat with Phila at her side.

"Chrom! Lissa!" The exalt called when she sees us, getting up and walking up to them. "Welcome home." Emm gave her siblings a hug, warming my heart. "Oh, and good day, Frederick. How fared you all?"

"The bandits are taken care of," Chrom said.

"Wonderful," Emm said, sighing in relief. "And our people?" Her concern for her people was something you just didn't see in real life, so the kindness she exhibited was refreshing.

"Safe for now," Chrom answered, "but we still need to watch our borders. The brigands crossed from Plegia."

"Forgive me, milord," Phila interjected, stepping forward. "My Pegasus knights should have intercepted them."

Chrom dismissed the thought with a wave. "No, Phila. Your place is at my sister's side. Besides, we shouldn't have needed to worry about our borders."

"Besides," Lissa said with a smile, "we had plenty of help anyway."

"Ah." Emmeryn finally took notice of us. "You speak of your new companions here?"

Chrom nodded. "This," he placed a hand on Robin's shoulder, "is Robin. She and Zach here fought bravely alongside us. I have decided to make the two of them Shepherds."

Emm walked closer to us and took our hands in hers with a polite smile. Her hands were extraordinarily soft, I noticed, and returned her smile. "It sounds as though Ylisse owes you both a debt of gratitude."

"No, not at all," Robin and I said in sync.

"Forgive me, your Grace," Frederick said, stepping next to me, "but I must speak. Robin claims to have lost her memory, and Zach claims to have come from a town in Valm. These are just that, however: claims. There is no proof, and we cannot rule out the possibility of them being brigands themselves or even Plegian spies." When he said it like that, our stories did sound pretty suspicious, especially when the two of us were found armed and capable of combat. Thank the gods Chrom was so trusting.

"Yet you allowed them into the castle," Emmeryn said, and I was unable to read her voice. "Do these two of have your trust?"

"Yes," Chrom promised. "Both of them risked life and limb for our people. That is good enough for me."

Emm nodded, closing her eyes. "In that case, I can say that you have my faith, as well." I bowed and we both gave our thanks. "But thank you, Frederick, for your prudence. My siblings are blessed to have a guardian as tireless as you; I hope they remember mention that."

Frederick smiled. "They… they occasionally express something akin to gratitude." Suddenly, his smile disappeared and the knight adopted a more serious expression. "Phila," he said, turning to the pegasus knight. "I assume you've heard about the deathly creatures we encountered, yes?"

She nodded. "Yes, milord. They've been sighted all across Ylisse."

"Chrom," Emmeryn said, stealing the spotlight. "We are about to hold council. I was hoping you would join us."

"Of course," the lord said, following his sister and the two knights out of the room. As I watched them leave, I felt something grab my arm. I almost wrenched it away before seeing that it was Lissa.

"That's our cue," she said, tugging on both mine and Robin's arms. "C'mon, there is a place I want to show you guys."


	3. Chapter 2: Shepherds

"Here we are," Lissa cheered, throwing her hands into the air as she pranced into the room. "The Shepherd's garrison! Go ahead, make yourselves at home."

Robin and I stepped into the garrison; I squinted through the drastic change in brightness. Inside, several figures that I recognized as the other Shepherds awaited. "Lissa, my treasure!" Maribelle rushed forward, pulling LIssa into a tight embrace. "Are you alright?" she asked, holding the princess to her for a moment longer. "I've been on pins and needles!"

"Oh, hey, Maribelle," Lissa said casually, patting the other girl on the back.

"'Oh, hey,' yourself," the noblewoman huffed. "I've sprouted 14 gray hairs fretting over you!"

"Yeah, and I've sprouted just as many for no good reason," I muttered under my breath, not expecting to be heard. "They can be pulled." Maribelle heard my remark, however, and shot a glare my way, which then served to earn me the attention of the other Shepherds. Heat rushed to my face, and I waved. "Hi."

"And who, exactly, are you?" Maribelle asked, stepping away from Lissa and folding her arms.

"This," Lissa said, skipping over to Robin and I, "is Zach. The woman in the cloak next to him is out new tactician, Robin!"

"Hello," the tactician greeted, offering a small wave of her own.

"I-I'm sorry to interrupt," a soft voice said, and I looked up to see Sumia fidgeting with a flower in her hands. "Where is the captain?" Her brow was furrowed, and if the way her fingers mercilessly tore away the flower's petals was any indication, she was anxiously awaiting Prince Oblivious's return.

"Yeah," the Vaike piped in, rolling his shoulder. "Where is Chrom? I'm going to hafta teach him a lesson for leaving the Teach behind!" To accentuate his point, he made that face where he sticks his tongue all the way out. You know the one, right?

Lissa and Maribelle scoffed. "So you're the Teach now," Lissa smirked. "I always thought that people were born lacking wits. Can it be taught?"

Vaike laughed, a hearty chuckle, before pointing a finger at the princess. "One lesson to learn, princess, is that you never doubt the Vaike." A second after the words left his mouth, his grin melted into a frown, and he said, "Wait, was that an insult?"

"Nothing escapes you, Vaike," I said, shaking my head, and his frown deepened.

"What about the captain?" Sumia questioned again, shuffling her feet and tempting fate with her clumsiness. I remembered that she did in fact fall on her face when Chrom walked in, so I stepped a little bit closer with discretion so as to not seem suspicious.

I tuned out the rest of the conversation, instead deciding to inspect the room we were in. A few boxes were scattered around, and aside from a bookshelf, it was otherwise empty. The stone walls let in no light, the only visibility from torches on the walls and the small windows. I always forgot how much we really took electricity for granted. I mean, rooms were never dark back home if we were in them, unless we were sleeping, of course.

With a pang, I remembered that "home" was very, very far away. I had to stop thinking about it, lest I put myself in a dark place. Shaking the thoughts from my head, I brought myself to attention just in time to see Chrom step through the door.

"Ah!" Sumia said, her face perking up at the sight of the prince. "Captain, you've returned! I was—I mean, we were so—" She took a single step forward, and her foot got caught on her other heel, flipping her forward. Luckily for her, I was ready, and stepped forward just as she fell and caught her before she hit the ground. Even with armour on, I noticed, she was surprisingly light. She opened her eyes after a moment, clearly surprised at not having smacked face-first into the floor. "Oh! Um, th-thank you!"

"Yeah, no problem," I said, helping her to her feet, smiling.

"Gods, Sumia," Chrom said, "was it those boots of yours again?"

"No! I mean,yes! I mean…" The Pegasus knight gave up with a sigh, sulking as a blush coloured her face.

Chrom cast one more look her way, before clearing his throat. "Alright," he said, "listen, everyone: in the morning, we'll be marching to Regna Ferox."

"Regna Ferox?" Robin asked, and I blinked. I'd honestly almost forgotten she was there with how quiet she'd been. "What's that?"

"It's a unified kingdom north of Ylisse," Sumia answered. "Supposedly, it's inhabited by barbarians."

Chrom shook his head. "Not barbarians, warriors," the prince corrected. "Warriors whose strength we will need to quell this new menace. Typically, the exalt would request aid such as this in person but, given recent events, we decided it would be best for my sister to stay with her people. So," he took a breath, "this task has been passed to us. However," he raised his hands, his eyes passing over each of us. "this mission is strictly voluntary, so if for any—"

"I volunteer," Lissa chirped, cutting her brother off.

"Me too," Vaike said. "For such a delicate mission, it would be stupid to not bring along the ol' Teach."

"I'll go as well," a voice next to me said, and I jumped. I looked to see Kellam standing next to me, a frown on his face that seemed to be directed at me. "What? I've been here the whole time!"

"I… I, um…."

"Yes, Sumia," Chrom said, turning to the stuttering knight. "What is it?"

"It's just that… I want to go along, but I'm not sure I'm ready for a proper mission yet," she said, looking at the ground. "I feel like I would just get in the way." Oh, gods, I connected with her so much right then. Sumia, you sweet soul.

"You could stay behind the main force," Chrom suggested. "That way, if a battle is met, you could just watch and learn? Some lessons, however, can only be learned on the battlefield, so it's your choice."

"W-well, if you think it wise, Captain."

"Just stay by me," Chrom said, with boundless charisma and a charming smile to match, "and you'll be fine." Sumia blushed, nodding fervently. I almost laughed. What? It was cute.

For the rest of the day, Lissa showed Robin and I around the garrison, the castle, and the city as a whole. The garrison was similarly set up as the first room that I saw. Grey, grey, grey. It was strangely empty in most rooms, as well. Only a few had any decoration, and the most I saw in one room, besides the dorms, anyway, was the armory, which had a collection of spears, swords, staves, and a tome or two. There were no axes or bows, which I initially found strange, but the more I thought about it, it made sense. I mean, there were no bowmen until now, and the only axe user in the Shepherds was Vaike, who I was sure kept his axe in his room.

The castle was magnificent, as expected. The bright white halls were decorated with lights and banners depicting the brand of Naga. Guards were patrolling, but they weren't very common. It wasn't a wonder that those assassins broke in later on. Maybe if I talked to Chrom, some additional guards could be posted and the entire thing could be avoided. Although, I didn't know if that would be beneficial. If I broke the story too much, I don't know if we would get to the end of the game and—no, it wasn't a game. Not for me anymore. Gods.

The castle was beautiful regardless. Portraits were hung upon the walls, each of them wearing a scarf-thingie like the one that Emmeryn had, but I noticed that they had different numbers on them. As we walked down the hall, each scarf-thingie had another number. Lissa noticed me staring at the portraits and said, "Those are the past exalts." That made sense. "Down at the end here is the last exalt, my father, and Emm." Now that I thought about it, they did bear a small resemblance to Chrom. At the end, I saw that Lissa wasn't kidding. A portrait of a man, almost identical visually to Chrom, sat.

"He looks… tired," I said, gazing into the portrait's eyes.

"Yeah." The princess gazed at the portrait for a moment, and then shook her head. "Let's get going." It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about it. Robin and I shared a glance, but nodded. Despite this, the princess was cheerful for the remainder of the tour.

Lastly, the city. Not much to say about it. Lissa showed us around the market, and I was tempted to buy a hat that was for sale, but remembered that I had no money. We returned to the garrison soon after, and Lissa showed the two of us to our rooms. It was… it was actually really nice to tour the city. I had always assumed Lissa was friendly, yes, but also mischievous. But she was so friendly today, it was like a ray of sunshine followed Robin and I. I smiled as she said goodnight, tempted to give her a hug. I settled for a wave, and collapsed onto the bed.

Well, cot. And collapsing onto it was a mistake. It was stiff, but a thousand times better than the ground I had slept on the night before, and warmer, too. I was thankful that I could sleep on the cot, and fell asleep almost instantly. It seemed I was exhausted, though a half-sleep followed by a battle really took it out of you.

I yawned as we marched north. We woke at dawn, and marched after a short breakfast. Thankfully, I was more used to waking up early, since my brother had me waking up before dawn back home, anyway. I was genuinely surprised that everyone else was so awake. Even Lissa. "Fuuuuuuuuuuuck," I yawned, stretching. I still wasn't used to walking with a sword swinging at my hip. It felt really cool to rest my hand on the pommel, though, and I found myself doing it frequently.

We had probably been walking for an hour or two when I noticed something weird about the sky to the east. I squinted, trying to figure out what was off. The air seemed to shimmer, before an eye like the one at the forest two nights ago split the sky. It opened, and a bundle of Risen fell from it like ragdolls. "Shit," I cursed. "Hey, there's Risen over here!" I pointed toward the eye, and everyone followed my finger. I run toward the Risen, who are standing up slowly, their arms limp at their sides and rusty weapons in hand. I heard the footsteps of the others behind me before being overtaken by Stahl, Sully, and Frederick, their weapons drawn.

I frowned as I got closer. I could see lance-users amongst the Risen, which made this much more difficult. There were some mercenaries there, too, their swords dragging on the ground as they roamed the field. When I saw the bridge, I recognized the field; this was where Chapter 2 took place.

The horse riders were waiting, keeping their distance from the undead threat. I stopped next to them. I presumed we were waiting for Robin to catch up, so I took the chance to further analyze our foes. There were quite a few soldiers with lances, which would be best to avoid. There were a couple barbarians nearby, so perhaps I should go for them immediately? At the far end was another large Risen, like the one in the forest, so I presumed that he was the Chief.

Robin and Chrom ran up, side by side, with Vaike, Virion, and Lissa trailing behind. "How many are there?" the tactician asked, tome in hand.

"Eh, maybe a dozen," I replied, drawing my sword. "Doesn't look as severe as the group in the forest."

She nodded, looking over the battlefield for a minute. "Alright, here is the plan: Chrom, you and Sully will pair up. Head to the right, and take care of the three, uh…"

"Risen," Chrom supplied.

"Risen." Robin paused, cocking her head. "Interesting. Frederick, you will stay with Lissa and ferry her around to whoever needs healing. Stahl, you and I will charge forward and take those forts. Virion will stay back, offering supportive fire. Zach, you and Vaike will take care of the l—Vaike where is your axe?"

The fighter's eyes widened, and he felt around his bare torso for his weapon. I sighed. I forgot about that. "I JUST had it!"

"It's alright," I said, patting him on the shoulder. "Stay back and keep looking. I'll take care of those Risen."

Robin considered it, holding her hand to her chin. "Virion, stick close to Zach." I was a little hurt that she thought I needed help, but that soldier was definitely going to give me trouble, so an archer like Ruffles would be appreciated. "Alright," she shouted. "Let's go!"

I cast a glance back at Vaike as I ran. He looked so disappointed, but scoured the ground for his missing axe. Returning my gaze forward, I set my sights on the mercenary straight ahead. I raised my blade—

And stabbed it through the zombie's chest. Before it could retaliate, I yanked the sword out and hopped away. It gripped its sword with both hands and, spewing that disgusting purple smoke from its mask, ran at me. I attempted to step to the side, but forgot that mercenaries where actually fairly fast. The Risen managed to slash my thigh, but I retaliated by decapitating it with a spinning slash. "Nnngh." That hurt like a bitch.

"Zach," came the fanciful voice of Virion, running up behind me with his bow drawn at the ground. "Do you require healing? I happen to have a—"

"No," I said, cutting him off before he could pull out the elixir he had and glancing at my wound. "It isn't as bad as it looks." Gods, but it hurt. "Just… keep covering fire." The noble archer stared for a moment, but nodded and readied his bow. A barbarian and a soldier still remained, the former already easing down the rocky hill it was standing on. I wouldn't give him a chance.

As soon as he hit the grass, I was there. My sword found a new sheathe in the barbarian's chest, but he didn't dissolve. He swung blindly, barely missing me before I hopped back again. I raised my sword and just as I brought it down, he scored a lucky hit along my stomach. He dissolved, and I hobbled back from the purple mist, but tripped and fell to the ground, clutching my stomach. It burned like hell, and the leg wound from earlier left my leg red and sticky. Gods, what are the chances that he would have hit me? It couldn't have been too high, right?

I heard Virion running up, and felt anger surge through me. Where was that damned covering fire, archer? The anger was surpassed by the pain, however, which flowed through me at a consistent pace. I looked up to see that he'd already pulled the elixir from his pocket. Before he could give it to me, however, a lance pierced the space between us.

The soldier had gotten close at some point. Virion hopped back and drew and arrow, firing it directly into the space where the Risen's heart would be. It recoiled ever so slightly, then yanked the arrow out. More mist poured from its mask, and it turned to face me. With a groan, I rolled out of the way. It pulled its lance back to stab again, and everything seemed to slow down.

Something inside me ignited, and I rushed forward, delivering a swift stab and following up immediately by slashing horizontally from where my sword punctured the Risen. I lowered my sword as it dissolved into mist, panting and clutching at my gut wound again. "Gods, what was that rush?" I muttered. That was…well, it felt like when I did that critical on the first boss, but different as well. Also, I didn't exclaim a kickass one-liner, so it couldn't have been a critical.

My thoughts were cut short as Virion ran up to me, pressing the blue flask of an elixir to my lips. I hesitated, thinking that something as rare as an elixir should be saved for later on, but then I realized that if I didn't drink it, I probably wouldn't see its eventual use, so I grabbed the drink and downed it. It burned as it went down, but I felt the wounds that I suffered begin to stitch themselves back together within seconds. It was different from the healing staff that Lissa used on me. It didn't itch so much, but it was still uncomfortable.

I was ready for combat once again, and I ran to where Robin, Stahl, and for some reason, Vaike, where standing. I noticed that the Teach had his axe in hand. I whipped my head around, looking for Miriel, since she must have been there, too. I didn't see the mage, but I wasn't too distraught. I never cared much for Miriel. I did see Chrom and Sully disposing of the soldier-Risen on their side, though, Frederick and Lissa next to them.

Robin was staring across the bridge, at the Risen meandering around over there. A pair of the undead—a barbarian and a soldier—were standing at the other end, seemingly waiting as they stared back us. Robin glanced at me when I walked up beside her. "What's the plan, tactician?" I asked, sheathing my sword.

"I'm thinking of pairing up Chrom and Vaike: their strength together should be enough to overpower those lance-users. Sully and Stahl will…pair up and use their lances to clear out the swordsmen. As for the axe-users," the tactician turned to me and smiled, "how about the two of us teach them a lesson?"

"Sounds good to me," I said, perhaps a little too cheerfully. I drew my sword, and Robin shouted the order to the other Shepherds. "Let's go." She nodded, and I sprinted at top speed toward the barbarian at the other end of the bridge. It didn't occur to me that Robin may not have been able to keep up. Regardless, I jumped into the air and landed on the barbarian, jamming my sword between his shoulder and his head, then tearing it free, making sure to deal as much damage then as I could. I was sure that he would dissolve, and back-stepped out of the lance-wielder's reach. Chrom and Vaike arrived in time, and Vaike shattered the Risen's lance, allowing Chrom to decapitate it, sending it to the abyss.

Robin shot me a glare. "Don't go that far ahead," she said, and I rubbed the back of my head.

"Sorry, I got ahead of myself," I said sheepishly. "I will stick closer to you from now on." The tactician nodded, stuffing her tome into her cloak and drawing a bronze sword. "How good are you with that thing?" I asked. She couldn't have been very proficient. I haven't seen her use it once.

"I'll be fine," she assured, waving me forward with the blade. "Now let's go. Sweep right with the cavaliers and deal with this axe, as well." I nodded, and we set off. Sully and Stahl met their target before we did, both of them delivering what would have normally been fatal blows on their own with their lances, and the mercenary dissolved before hitting the ground. To keep the cavaliers safe, Robin and I swung in. The barbarian was defenseless. I sliced low, taking out his legs and the tactician finished him off.

The cavaliers rode after the mercenary behind us, and I turned to watch as Vaike pummeled the soldier with his axe. Robin and I made our way over at a leisurely pace. Our final target—aside from the Chief—was clambering down the hill, just like the one from a few minutes ago. "Last one like this fucked up my stomach," I grumbled, rubbing where the wound had been.

I settled into my Ko Gasumi stance when the Risen made its way onto even ground. This one spewed the purple mist when it saw me, as well, and its eyes flashed red. Why did they always do that? It ran at us, and I deflected his blow. Robin danced in, cleaving off his arm. I spun in a circle and cleaved deep into his side, before swinging again to cut all the way through. "Are you going to show off for this big one, too?" Robin said, putting her sword away and pulling the tome from her coat.

"What do you mean?" I asked, rolling my shoulder.

"Each of the last two battles, you finished the final foe off either by yourself or in a spectacular move," the tactician explained. "Is that your plan again?"

I thought about it for a moment, but looking past her, I saw something that answered her question for me. "It doesn't seem like I've much of a choice." I pointed behind her, and she turned to see Chrom and Vaike fighting the Chief. The Chief was helpless, swinging wildly. Every strike would be blocked by Chrom, and Vaike would follow up with a devastating swing of his axe. The Chief stumbled back, and I saw Chrom lower his blade to the ground behind him.

The prince's shout was clear: "Your end has come!" Chrom leapt forward, bringing his sword down and cutting straight through the Risen Chief, leaving the two halves to dissolve as he slid Falchion back into its sheathe. Vaike dropped his axe and wiped an arm across his forehead as Robin and I, and the rest of the Shepherds, walked up. "Good fighting, Shepherds," the prince said when he saw us.

"What's the plan, Chrom?" Sully asked. "Are we gonna take a break or keep moving? I'm fine either way." She had a smear of blood and a tear in her sleeve, but no cut, which meant that Lissa healed her already.

"We should get moving," Chrom answered. "Every moment we take is a moment that Ylisse is in danger." The cavalier nodded. I looked at Lissa and saw that she was disappointed, but Frederick hoisted her back onto his horse. Within a minute or two, we were on the move once more.

It wasn't long before we stopped again, however. "Well, what do we have here?" Robin asked, pointing to the west.

"Hey," Lissa exclaimed before I could look, "is that what I think it is?" She ran toward where Robin was pointing, managing to startle what seemed to be a pegasus.

"It's a pegasus, alright," Chrom assured, walking forward, as well. I hear rapid footsteps and turn to see Sumia running closer. I'm surprised that she didn't fall on the way. "I think its hurt," the prince continued as I headed to the pegasus. I knew Sumia was going to fall here—I remembered that much—and I was going to try and catch her again. Can't let that pretty face hit the dirt. "Let's just have a look here…"

The pegasus panicked when the prince drew closer, rearing up and kicking at him, one of its wings flapping. Chrom almost fell back on his ass, holding his hand out. "WHOA! Down, girl! Easy there!"

"Captain, one moment!" Sumia said, and I stepped forward. Sure enough, the pegasus knight let out a cry as she tripped over her feet again. I held out my arms, and she fell right into them.

"That was close," I said, and she nodded.

"Thank you, again." Sumia stood and walked to the pegasus.

"Sumia, what are you doing?" Chrom cried, standing up. "Don't come any closer, this beast is mad!"

"Captain, it's okay," she smiled, before settling into a stern, serious face. "I know what I'm doing." She walked slowly up to the winged horsed, and it looked ready to rear up again, but the knight raised her hand at a snail's pace, before resting it on the pegasus's snout. She didn't move her hand any faster, just gently rubbing the beast's snout. "Shhh, it's okay, girl, I won't hurt you." The pegasus didn't kick her away, which—even though I knew it wouldn't—I was a little worried about. A faint smile grew on her face, and she was looked so happy.

"How did she calm it so quickly?" I heard Robin ask, stroking her chin.

"That's incredible, Sumia!" Lissa cheered, but didn't come closer.

"I've never seen anything like it," Chrom said, and I saw the blush spread to Sumia's face, even as she tried to hide it.

"Oh, it's… it's nothing. Really," she said, stroking the pegasus more boldly, now. "I just have a way with animals, I guess."

"I should say so!" Chrom exclaimed.

"You all go ahead," the knight said, waving us forward. "I will dress her wounds and catch up."

Chrom was hesitant, but I gave him a push. "She'll be fine, Chrom," I said. "Like you said, every moment we waste is one that Ylisse is in danger, so we need to move."

The prince nodded. "Right. Be safe, Sumia." The knight nodded, blushing and waving us off.


	4. Chapter 3: Warrior Realm

You know, it was definitely cold on the road to Regna Ferox. I mean, I knew it would be, but I was expecting worse. It wasn't any worse than winter back in Minnesota, so I was pretty acclimated to it. The other Shepherds, however, were fairing much worse than I. Vaike especially. You would have thought the dumbass would have at least put on a shirt. But then, it was the Teach, and you really couldn't expect much forethought from him.

"Brrr!" Lissa shivered, clutching herself as her teeth chattered. "F-F-Frebberick! I'm f-f-freebing!"

"Stand beside my horse, milady," the knight-butler said. "She'll shelter you from the wind." The horse's tail flicked, and the princess hurried over to hide from the snowy wind. I didn't think it was snowing; the wind was just blowing around what had already fallen. The scenery was beautiful, despite the conditions. I had always held an appreciation for snowy landscapes. Undisturbed snow looked so peaceful, and instilled a sort of serenity in me. The snow-covered evergreens added to the aesthetic.

"So this is the fortress?" Robin asked, and I returned my eyes forward. Indeed, ahead of us lay the Longfort. Fire Emblem Awakening's Great Wall. It was massive, but not as tall as I'd thought. It was perhaps two or three stories high. Perhaps the wall was just that: a wall. The real barricade, I wagered, was the guards that sat atop it. This chapter wasn't very difficult in the game, but then, none of the others had been exceptionally difficult in the game either, yet they were no pieces of cake here. I had to keep my wits about me in the oncoming fight.

"Yes," Chrom said, answering the tactician's question. "This is the Longfort. It stretches along the entire Ylissean-Feroxi border." Despite the cold, the prince seemed to be as calm as ever, though I could see him shiver occasionally.

"The khans that rule Ferox have grown quite wary of foreigners," Frederick said, his eyes narrowed at the top of the stretching fortress. "Still, don't mistake a lack of hospitality for open hostility. This simply calls for a bit of diplomacy." Maybe I should tell them about the fight. Would it be avoided then? Though, if I did, they would probably think me crazy and ignore my warnings anyway. I kept my mouth shut and let the scripted dialogue continue.

"Negotiation's not my strong suit," Chrom admitted. "But, I will do my best. Remember, everyone," he called over the whistling wind, "your actions here reflect back upon Ylisse." Atop the fortress, I saw shapes moving about. The snow blowing around made it difficult to see exactly what was happening. At least, that was the case for me.

Frederick saw them, as well, and moved his hand to where his lance was strapped to his horse. "Trouble in the wind, milord: the Feroxi Guard are mobilizing."

"What?" Chrom squinted, peering at the fort. "Why?"

"Who can say?" said the knight. "But they look ready to let fly at a moment's notice. We'd best prepare for combat, just to be safe."

"What was that you said about not mistaking open lack of hospitality for hostility, Frederick?" I called, and received a glare from the knight.

"Halt," a deep, but feminine voice called from the wall. "Who goes there?" Someone with a head of short, blonde hair stood at the wall's edge wearing full armor. Gods, what was her name? Raimi?

"In the name of House Ylisse, I seek audience with the khans!" Chrom shouted up to the border guard.

"Not another step, my bold lad," she replied. "I've lancers at the ready!" She held her hand up, and a number of other armored soldiers stepped up, javelins held in a throwing position.

"Hold, milady!" Frederick yelled, holding a hand up in peace. "We are not your enemy! Exalt Emmeryn herself sent us to discuss matters of mutual interest."

Raimi shook her head. "My only interest is keeping you out of Regna Ferox, brigands!"

Frederick's eyes shot wide open, as did his mouth. "Brigand?" he repeated, dumbfounded. "Now see here, you—"

"Do you think you are the first so-called 'Ylisseans' to try and cross our border? I have the authority to fell such imposters where they stand." If the Shepherds didn't have their weapons drawn before, they certainly all did now.

"How dare you?" Fredericked bellowed, his lance being held in a death grip. I could practically see his blood boiling, the outrage in his eyes. "You are in the prescence of Prince Chrom, the exalt's own blood!"

Raimi threw her head back in laughter. "Yes, indeed—and I am the queen of Valm! You do realize impersonating royalty is a capital offense, yes?" She placed a finger to her chin, as if in thought, then said, "Perhaps we should settle this the Feroxi way. If you claim to be the prince of Ylisse, then prove it to me on the battlefield."

Chrom's mouth was pressed into a firm line, his eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off, instead shouting, "Hold, milady! He bears the brand of the Exalt! Surely that is proof enough!"

Apparently, it was not proof enough. "Brands can be faked, swordsman," said the border guard. "Now I've had enough talking. Attack!" With diplomacy thrown out the window, Raimi stepped back from the ledge as the armored soldier drew back their arms, prepared to impale the prince. As they threw their spears, I heard a whistle coming from behind me. Before I can turn to see it, something white wizzes above us and at Chrom, who is lifted away just before the spears hit the ground. Frederick, Lissa, Robin, and I looked up to see a pegasus—the same one as before, if the bandages on its side were any indication—flying above us.

The armored soldiers made to throw another round of spears, but the pegasus dived out of the way, swooping low and slowing to a stop just before us. I was not surprised to see Sumia atop it, Chrom holding onto her. Chrom dismounted, and Sumia let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, Captain, I'm so relieved I made it in time."

"That goes double for me, Sumia!" Chrom said, almost chuckling. "And this it—this is the same pegasus from on the road, isn't it?"

Sumia nodded. "Oh, she's a sweetheart, isn't she? I mean, once you really get to know her…"

"Well, many thanks to you both," Chrom said.

Lissa giggled, pointing at the pegasus. "Look, I think it's blushing!" The pegasus was not, in fact blushing. Its rider, on the other hand, was as red as a strawberry. I smiled a little, but Frederick's stern voice brought my attention to the more prevalent situation.

"I think we had all best focus on the situation at hand!" said the knight, and everyone's faces grew serious.

"Chrom, they're coming," Robin announced, pointing to the gates east and west of us, which soldiers were pouring out of.

"Alright," growled the prince, drawing Falchion. "The Feroxi way it is."

He almost ran ahead, but I stopped him by grabbing his shoulder. "Chrom, are we to kill them?" My stomach turned at the thought. I didn't want to have to kill these soldiers, especially because they were just that—soldiers. They weren't brigands attacking the innocent, and I didn't want to kill them if I didn't have to, but I would if the situation required it.

Chrom shook his head. "Not if you can help it, but I would rather my men came back alive then theirs, so do what's necessary to survive." I nodded, and he charged forward, followed by Vaike, Frederick, Virion, and Sumia. I turned around, seeing that only Robin, Lissa, Stahl, and Sully remained. Miriel wasn't present, so I asked the tactician why.

"She volunteered to stay behind," Robin answered, peering over the field. "Something about avoiding the needless fatigue in favor of climate research or something." I nodded. "Anyway, there are more pressing matters at hand. Chrom is leading half of us right, probably to avoid the archers for Sumia. We should take the left side then. Lets' go!" With that, the five of us charged the opposite direction as Chrom. Sully and Stahl rode ahead, but only barely, and collided into the soldiers there like a train, not killing them, but certainly knocking them unconscious.

As we ran, I looked back, something tugging at the back of my mind. Aside from a black spot in the sky, which I was sure was just a bird, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. That is, until my eyes looked at the ground, and I saw another pair of footprints behind us. Blinking twice, I stopped. Robin noticed and stopped as well. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Kellam, is that you?" I called. The knight was following us. I didn't know how we missed him, or how nobody heard the shuffling of his plate armor.

"Yes," said the knight, waving. I could see him clearly now. I guessed that the game wasn't exaggerating his uh, stealth. It didn't make any sense to me, but I supposed I should have just rolled with it.

"Oh," Robin said, confused with Kellam just as I was. "Well, I guess it would be best if you headed with Chrom's group. It would even out our numbers." The knight nodded and clambered off, toward where the other Shepherds were clashing with a few Feroxi guards.

Robin and I moved toward out mark, as well, but it seemed that Sully and Stahl made quite the efficient team. Their horses knocked the guards down, and the cavaliers bonked them on the helmets. When we arrived, all of them were on the ground, knocked out. "Nice job, guys," I said. If I remembered correctly, one of them dropped a key to open the door up ahead. "Did either of you see a key on one of them?" Both cavaliers shook their heads and I sighed. Kneeling down next to one of them, I searched him for the key. "Look for one. I'm sure they didn't leave the gate unlocked for us." Mine didn't have it on him, but a moment later, Stahl popped up, shining key in hand.

"It was around his neck," the cavalier informed, mounting his horse. I looked over to where Chrom and Sumia were. I didn't see them, but looking higher, I saw Sumia's pegasus over the fort, past the door.

"Chrom and the others are already up there," I said, running to the door. "We should hurry. Stahl, throw me the keys." He rode closer and tossed them. I caught them, popping it into the keyhole and pushing the door open. Waiting inside was one of the armored knights, who stabbed his lance at my chest. I twisted to avoid the jab, but it still scraped my chest and I slipped past him.

"Bandit scum!" he shouted, whirling around and swinging the pole of his lance at me. I ducked under, raising my sword. I backed away, waiting for the others to get up here and hit him from behind. He stabbed at me again, and grazed my arm. Gods, lances were hard to avoid, and he wouldn't let me get close. It wouldn't matter if I got in close; there was no way my sword was piercing that armor.

Thankfully, I didn't have to. My hopes came true, as a blast of thunder hit the knight in the back, causing him to stumble forward, electricity arcing around his metal shell. Sully and Stahl rode in, clanging their weapons against him, driving him to the ground. Another shock and he was out of commission, but I was worried. The lance-users are messing me up, lately.

Ahead of us were more of the armored knights; the ones that tried to skewer Chrom. They readied their lances, this time poised to throw at us. My blood ran cold, and I saw the same fear streak across the others' faces.

Time slowed down, but I couldn't move. What could I do? Was this where I would die? Oh gods, this couldn't be. There was no way I could die here. It didn't feel real. Yet still…could I get out? Sluggish, as if moving through mud, I turned toward the door. If I could just reach…

In the sky, the black spot I saw minutes ago seemed much closer and… much larger. It was a bird, I noticed. It was flying toward us. Actually… it was here. And it was HUGE.

With a screech, a giant black hawk crashed into the line of spearmen, its wings pulling it back up before it hit the ground, leaving the knights either dead or unconscious. I couldn't tell. I was too busy staring at the GIANT HAWK. Leaving the thought that my life had almost ended in the back of my mind, I stumbled backward, falling on my ass. "What the hell is that?" An equally shocked look was on Robin's face.

No one knew what was going on—not even the remaining Feroxi, which included Raimi. Everybody was staring in awe at the hawk, which landed on the fort. Then it folded its wings and began to… shrink?

It shrunk down to the size of a human, its bird features disappearing, all except for its wings. When the transformation ended, a man in a black trench coat stood in the bird's place; he had long, messy blonde hair and black and brown wings sprouting from his back. I peered at the man, but the remaining Feroxi guards were more forward, running at him with their weapons raised. Robin ran forward, tome open. I followed, my feet moving themselves.

The tactician shot a charge of Thunder at the mercenary, stunning him while I ran to the further fighter, who was closing in on the winged-man. I wasn't going to kill him. I didn't need to. Fear etched itself on the winged-man's face, the fighter right next to him. I was faster, however, and got close enough to tackle the Feroxi to the ground, knocking the axe from his hand. I drove the pommel of my sword against his head, and then again to make sure he was really out cold. Heh, get it?

Panting, I stood up from the fighter and sheathed my sword. The bird-man was staring at me, and there was something unsettling about the way that his blue-green eyes seemed to shift between the two colors. "So," I said, returning his stare. I KNEW that he wasn't part of the Awakening cast. The question was, just who was this guy? "You mind telling me who you are?"

He opened his mouth, then his eyes shot open and he cried, "Behind you!"

I whirled around to see another fighter about to bring his axe down. I reacted quickly, almost instantly. My hand shot to my sword, and I swung it from my scabbard, knocking the fighter's axe away in the same motion. I pointed the tip of my sword to his throat, muttering, "Surrender." The fighter put his hand up and placed them behind his head, kneeling in front of me. I let out a sigh and lowered my sword to the ground. "I wish you idiots would have just believed us." I sheathed my sword and picked his axe off the ground before pitching it off the wall.

Raimi was the only one left. Frederick stood in front of her, and I felt pity for her. I knew that no one insulted Chrom's credibility in front of the knight and got off easy. "Hold," the knight said, raising her hand. "I wish to battle with the one you claim to be the prince." I could feel the anger radiating from Frederick, but he stepped away, and Chrom walked forward. All of the other Shepherds were watching, now, all of the guards laying on the ground.

"I am Chrom," said the prince, sheathing Falchion.

"So you say," Raimi narrowed her eyes and hefted her javelin. "Let the battle sound the truth of your words!" She ran at Chrom, levelling her javelin with his chest. I noticed something shining at Chrom's waist in that moment, something aside from Falchion. Then, almost as fast as I had earlier, Chrom drew a slim, regal sword from his waist, and stabbed at Raimi.

The knight's spear grazed Chrom's uncovered arm, the one with his brand, while his rapier pierced through her armor. Raimi gasped, dropping onto her knees as her spear clattered to the ground. "Then your claims were…were true…" She fell to the ground and Chrom sheathed the rapier.

"Lissa," he called, waving for his sister. "Come heal her, quickly." The princess ran toward the collapsed border guard, her healing staff prematurely emitting a dull glow. Whe she began to heal Raimi, I turned back to the bird-man, finding him just as indulged in the scene as I was.

"What's your name?"

"Dylan," he replied, holding out his hand. "I get the feeling that we're in a similar situation."

I shook it, then paused. "Wait, are you from Ear—" He clamped a hand over my mouth, cutting me off. He shook his head.

"We should talk later."

I nodded. Right. Talking about otherworldly things in the presence of the other Shepherds would have been a bad idea. I would have to find him later. If he really was from Earth, which was pretty much guaranteed now, it meant that I wasn't alone here. It also meant that whatever brought me here didn't settle for just me. Did that mean that there were even more people from Earth?

"Zach," Chrom called. "Who is this?" The prince walked closer, his blue eyes studious of Dylan. The prince seemed particularly fascinated with the newcomer's wings.

"This is Dylan," I said, stepping to the side and gesturing to him. "That giant bird that crashed into the javelin-line was him." Dylan held out his hand again and Chrom shook it.

"Nice to meet you," he said, his eyes shifting between colors again.

"Likewise," Chrom replied, releasing his hand. "I would like to speak with you inside, once everything has calmed down a bit more." With that, the prince walked back through the door Raimi was guarding. Vaike was holding said knight up, her face pale. While everyone else funneled inside, I waited to enter with Dylan. I was a more than a little excited to talk with this guy.

"Let's go," I said when everyone else had gone inside, and I followed him through the door.


	5. Interlude 1: Team Meeting

"I apologize again, Prince Chrom," Raimi said, leading us through the Palace of the East Khan. She was much nicer now that she wasn't trying to put us to the lance. "If only I'd known…"

"It is fine, Raimi," Chrom said, though Frederick obviously thought differently. "I understand the skepticism." Five of us, excluding Raimi, were walking through the hall, which was made of grey stone and decorated plainly with the standard Feroxi banner of two wolves. Chrom, Lissa, Frederick, Robin and I followed the border guard, while all of the other Shepherds stayed behind, getting comfortable in their temporary living quarters.

Raimi said she was going to lead us to the khan, so Chrom decided to take the best of us to meet the warrior ruler. I was quite honored that he chose me. Raimi led us into a round, bright room. "My prince, please wait while I summon the khan." She then hurried away, her heavy armor clanging as she walked.

"The khan is away?" Robin asked, her hands stuck into the pockets of her cloak.

Chrom nodded, said, "Out training, I would wager." The tactician tilted her head slightly, so the prince continued. "The khans, as you may be able to tell from earlier, prefer battle to politics. Rather, battle is their politics."

"A warrior ruler, eh?" As a mischievous smile stretched across Robin's face, I let my mind wander, my thoughts barely sticking to what was happening. Instead, I thought about the possibility of other people from Earth being in Ylisse, or even other places around the Awakening. I mean, before, I had thought that I was the only one, but now, Dylan was here.

That meant I wasn't alone, per se. I was a little excited, yes, but I also started to wonder, why were we here? Were we brought here, and if so, for what reason? I didn't understand it at all. I needed to talk to Dylan.

"Damn them!" Chrom cursed and snapped my attention back to the moment, his temper flaring before dimming again. "I… Forgive me, Your Grace. That was…indelicately put."

Flavia scoffed, grinning. "Ha! Damn them and damn delicacy!" she said. "Here in Ferox, we appreciate plain speech." Ah, yes. We can curse like sailors here without repercussion. Sounds like my kind of place. Also, it's cold here, so there's that.

"In that case," Chrom said, "you should have a word with your damn border guards. We were almost skewered, earlier."

"I apologize, again, prince Chrom." Raimi was here, as well. She bowed at the prince, but Flavia waved her off.

The khan laughed again, throwing her head back. "I like you already, Prince, and I know why you have come. However, I cannot help you." I held back a groan as the scripted dialogue continued. I looked down to the floor, tracing the lines of the stones with my eyes. After playing through the game multiple times, grinding for supports and skills, the dialogue became irrelevant and, well, boring.

So, letting the others rabble on, I hooked my thumbs on my waistband and studied the people around me. Lissa was staring up at her brother and Flavia while they talked, something akin to a lost look in her eyes. Frederick was stern and stoic, though the unvented anger he held toward Raimi was hard to miss, his eyes locked onto the border guard, narrowed. Robin's eyes were darting around constantly, searching for gods-know-what. Whenever someone spoke, I noticed, her eyes locked onto them, studying them, taking in information like a super-sponge.

"Well-spoken again," Flavia said, smirking and nodding. "I look forward to seeing if you're equally skilled with a blade!" With that, the khan turned away and began to walk off, but Raimi caught her and whispered something into her ear. The, Flavia turned back around, saying, "Ah, yes. Before you arrived, a woman appeared beyond the border in robes I have never seen before. Her appearance was inexplicable, but she had a tome of dark magic with her, so we suspected she was Plegian and used some sort of dark magic to teleport past the border. She is in the dungeon, if you want to speak with her."

That was new. I didn't remember Flavia saying that in game. If Plegians were teleporting in Ferox, then that was going to be a problem. Although, I don't think any dark mages could teleport aside from Validar. Something felt…off about the theory. I needed to check it out. "Chrom," I said. "I can go check out the Plegian."

"I will, too," Robin said. Chrom nodded, and the tactician turned to the khan, saying, "Would you mind leading us to her?" Flavia looked to Raimi, who bowed, hand cross over her chest.

"Follow me," the border guard said, and walked off to the left. Robin and I hurried after her, and I waved back to Chrom, who walked back the way we came with Lissa and Frederick. Raimi led us through a doorway, which continued into a hall that was almost, if not identical to the first one. Raimi was silent as we walked, but I didn't mind all too much. I wasn't one much for conversation. We went through another door, and an atrocious scent assailed my nose, causing it to crinkle up in response. "My apologies. Some of our prisoners are rather…uncleanly."

No shit, I thought. The dungeon was about what one could expect: dim, dirty, cold, and lined with cells. It wasn't as loud as I thought it would be, though. Most of the prisoners we walked by just locked onto us with their eyes, their gaze angry and hateful. Somehow, it was worse. Toward the end of the hall, a girl in a very revealing outfit sat, most of which was navy blue, sat, her legs—which were covered only up until the mid-thigh with some type of leggings—pulled up against her chest, her chin resting on her knees, but tilted down to the floor. Her hair, long and bright red, curled and fell past her shoulders. She didn't look up when Raimi stopped at the door of her cell. "Here she is," the border guard said. "I trust you know your way back?" I didn't, but I wasn't paying attention as we walked. Robin nodded, so I would just follow her back. Raimi left us then, and we were left alone with the girl.

"I already told them that I'm not Plegian," the girl said, still not looking up. "I don't know how I got here." My eyes widened. Wait a minute, what? By the sounds of things… No, maybe I was getting my hopes up. Or maybe she was lying. Either way, I was jumping the gun. I could not confirm if she was from Earth, too. Though I couldn't exactly voice my suspicions to Robin, I didn't think she was Plegian.

So, I said, "I believe you." Robin turned on me, though not with anger. She had a curious look on her face, as if asking why I believed the girl's excuse. "She doesn't look tan enough to be from Plegia," I said simply, shrugging. It was true. For someone suspected of being from a desert-ridden country, this girl was quite pale. Paler than I was, in fact. Though, Robin may not have known that, I realized, and quickly added, "which is mostly desert."

She didn't look convinced. "I don't know, Zach. I don't know if I want to take that risk."

"Come on, Robin," I said, and she frowned. "If we free her—" as soon as those words left my mouth, the girl's head jolted up. "If we free her," I continued, "I will take responsibility for any of her actions." Almost convinced, I thought. The tactician held her chin in her hand. "I'll keep an eye on her," I promised, tilting my head and raising my eyebrows.

"Yes, I'm sure you will," the tactician said, glancing at the girl with a smirk. I opened my mouth, about to prostest this complete harassment when she said, "Alright. Stay here while I find a guard." She turned and walked away, her boots thumping against the stone floor.

When I figured she was out of earshot, I turned back to the girl. "I won't be staring at you, by the way." A pair of stormy-grey eyes were perring back at me, wide. Clearing my throat, I continued. "So I have a few questions. First and foremost, are you from this world?" I knew it was sudden—very sudden, but there was no use continuing this conversation if I didn't get the elephant out of the way. She was caught off-guard by the question, blinking.

"I'm—I'm sorry?"

"Are you, or are you not, from this world?" If she was from Fire Emblem, and I looked like a complete lunatic, I had a back-up excuse: the Outrealm gate was a thing, so if she wasn't from Earth, I could bring that up. I hoped, gods, I prayed that she was from Earth, though.

She was silent for a moment longer. I briefly wondered what was taking her so long to answer the question, however absurd it seemed. It was a simple one, wasn't it? Finally, she spoke, her voice soft, hesitant, like she was testing the water of a pool. "Are-are you from Earth?"

A weight lifted from my chest—one I hadn't known was there—and I let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, thank the gods," I said. "Yes, I am. That means you are, as well?"

She stood up now, a look of relief and happiness on her face. "Yes, I-I am. God, you—" She grabbed the bars, and I cut her off.

"It's 'gods' here, remember? Besides, we should wait to talk about our situation later. Robin is coming back."

"R-right, yeah," she said, nodding. Now that she was standing and closer, I got a better look at her. She was shorter than me, by probably half a foot, and slim. She had freckles, too. Yeah, her outfit was super revealing. I mean, nearly nothing was left to the imagination, what with the leggings, a veil over her abdomen, and what looked pretty much like underwear. At least she had a cape, which was lighter blue on the inside. Actually, she kind of looked like Nyx. "Stop staring," she said, and I blinked, shaking my head. She was blushing a bit.

"Yeah, sorry, it's just…" I of course looked away.

"Revealing, I know," she muttered, covering herself. "It's what I came here in." Ah, of course. I mean, I came here in the outfit of my class, so it made sense. I felt kind of bad, now. "I wish I could just cover up more." I took one more glance at her, then shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe Robin can get you a cloak." Speaking of, the tactician was almost here. "Oh," I said, "what's your name, by the way?"

"Um, Krystal."

"I'm Zach. It's nice to meet you," I said, sticking my hand through the bars. She shook it, albeit tentatively. I got the feeling she was shy, but that was alright. Usually, I was too. Really, I was surprised how forward and vocal I'd been the past few days. Maybe the insanity of the situation had eroded my barrier?

"This one," Robin said, pointing to Krystal's cell. The guard she'd brought with her pulled a ring of keys off his belt, unlocking the door and pulling it open. Robin thanked the guard and he nodded, scratching at his messy brown hair before trudging back down the hallway. "I am Robin," the tactician said, bowing slightly to Krystal.

"I-I know," Krystal said, "I—" She realized her slip-up before I did, and caught herself. "I overheard the two of you talking earlier." I had sucked in a breath when she said "I know", letting it out slowly. Krystal saved herself. "I-I am Krystal."

"I got this back for you," Robin said, reaching into her cloak. She pulled out a purple tome, a silver diamond-like shape in the center of the cover. "The guard gave it to me when I asked to release you. It was shocking, really, that he just let us take you with us, though," the tactician mused. I exchanged a look with Krystal, who was still covering herself. Man, now I felt worse. Then Robin yawned, and I smiled a little at how cute it was. "Ugh, we should get going. Chrom will probably be expecting us back."

I nodded, and Robin led the two of us away. I let Krystal walk ahead of me, and I swear that my intentions were purely innocent. I just didn't like people walking behind me; it made me nervous. Besides, even if I wanted to look at their asses, they both had long coats or capes so I couldn't. Speaking of which, "Hey, Robin? Do you know where Krystal could get a cloak?" The tactician didn't turn when she replied, but Krystal looked back at me. She didn't say anything, so I didn't know why she looked back.

"I'm afraid I don't," Robin admitted. Then she turned to Krystal and said, "But I could help you look some time." The tactician smiled politely, and Krystal nodded, her fiery curls bouncing. I admit, I was, and always had been, entranced with bright red hair. The more you know.

I had no idea what time it was when we returned to the dormitory area. It couldn't have been too late, but I just felt drained. However, I wanted to talk to Dylan yet, and now that Krystal was here, as well, we could all discuss… Earth stuff? Unfortunately, I had no idea where Dylan was. I had to find Chrom first, and then see if Krystal even wanted to join in on our chat, and THEN meet up with Dylan. Thankfully, Robin seemed to know where everything was, and helped Krystal and I find our way to Chrom. Halfway to the prince's room, she gave us directions and retired to her room. I thanked her, and Krystal and I continued forward.

"You are going to need a backstory," I said as we walked. Convincing people that she wasn't Plegian wouldn't be a problem, especially for someone as gullible as Chrom, but it would be nigh impossible if she didn't have a story. I explained this to her, then paused. "Wait, do you want to be a Shepherd? I'm sorry, I should have asked earlier." This job certainly wasn't a mantle to force upon anyone. She had to choose it.

"I-well, I really don't see any other option for me at this point, so…" Krystal twiddled her thumbs as we walked, staring at the floor. She was very quiet, even when she talked. I got the feeling that our conversations would be short, and the majority would be initiated by me, which was a problem in itself, because I didn't do… that.

"Right." A long silence followed, the only sound being our footsteps echoing throughout the stone hallway. "Hey, if you would like, I am meeting with another person from Earth after we talk to Chrom, and you could come with."

"Oh, yeah, sure," she said. There wasn't any confidence in her words, but I didn't read into it too much.

We came to Chrom's door. It was more decorated than the other Shepherds', but that was to be expected. I knocked lightly at first, but the prince didn't respond. I knocked a second time, harder. "Come in," called a voice from inside. I eased the door open, and saw Chrom sitting at a desk inside. His blue hair was disheveled, his back slightly hunched, and he was scribbling something if the shaking quill was anything to go by. The room was basic, albeit with a few more luxuries than I suspected the other Shepherds had. For instance, the bed in the corner had blankets of a solid blue colouring. A lantern was lit on the desk, and what I assumed was a holder for it was attached to the wall. Across from the lantern holder was a map. It looked like a map of the palace. After a moment, he sighed and turned around. "What can I help you wi—oh, Zach. And who is this?"

"H-Hi," Krystal said, shuffling nervously and covering herself. "My name is Krystal." Christ, I probably should have made sure she was ready to enter. Meeting the prince under fairly normal circumstances—for our situation, at least—would really put you on the spot. At least, judging by the way that Krystal shriveled up under Chrom's gaze.

"Krystal is the girl who was captured by the Feroxi and suspected of being Plegian," I informed. "I, however, do not believe her to be Plegian." Chrom studied her for a moment, standing up.

"If you trust her," Chrom said, donning a smile that only he could pull off, "then I will as well." I knew that the real fight would be convincing Frederick. Gods, convincing him to allow both Dylan and Krystal to join could very well have proved impossible. "Nice to meet you, Krystal."

"Nice to meet you, too."

I waited for her to continue speaking, and when she didn't, said, "Say, Chrom, where is Dylan?" He frowned, saying nothing. "The bird-man?"

"Yes, I know who you're talking about," the prince said, caressing his chin. He walked over to the map on the wall and squinted. "I believe…" he tapped a room on the map, labeled as R-11. "he is in this room."

I studied the map for a moment longer, attempting to memorize the way Krystal and I needed to go. "Okay," I mumbled. "I think I can find the way there." If not, I could always ask another person. I turned to Krystal. "You ready to go?" She nodded. "Alright, Chrom, I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah," he said, walking back to his desk. He seemed tired, as well. I really needed to step outside, or at least look through a window to see if it was night or not. Krystal and I left Chrom to whatever it was he was doing, and began meandering our way through the hall while I tried to recall how it looked on the map.

"Bird-man?" Krystal asked at one point. Ah, yes. Perhaps I should explain the winged man that I could hopefully get to join our ranks. "I thought you said he was from Earth?" Oh.

"Yes, well, how he came to have wings, I don't know." I mean, we'd only had one conversation, and a stubby one at that. Dylan certainly had some question coming. "But he knows about Earth, so I can only assume that he's in the same boat as us. Also, sorry I dragged you into Chrom's room like that." Perhaps it wasn't a big deal, but I kind of felt bad, especially when she was so, uh, scantily clad. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot."

"No," Krystal muttered, "i-it's fine." I didn't believe her. But I didn't say anything. As we walked, I started looking at the numbers engraved on the doors. 109, 110, 111.

"There we are," I said, and knocked with a little too much force, this time. "Dylan should be in here."

To my dismay, however, a voice that was very much not Dylan's responded to the knock. "Wha!" cried a feminine voice; a voice that I recognized. "One moment!" I heard shuffling feet, then a thump before the door opened, revealing a disheveled Sumia. Her forehead was red, and she was rubbing it. "Yes?"

"Oh, my apologies, Sumia," I said, forcing a slight smile. "I was looking for Dylan's room." I must have remembered the number incorrectly.

Sumia smiled. "It's no problem. Is Dylan the man with the wings?" I nodded. "I think he is in that room right there." She leaned out the door and pointed two rooms away, at R-13.

"Ah, thank you," I said, nodding. "Sorry, again. Talk to you later." I waved, and Krystal and I walked over to R-13. Please actually be his, I prayed. I knocked, moderating my pressure. Dylan opened the door faster than Sumia, almost like he was waiting.

"There you are," he said, his arms crossed. It was weird how his mostly black wings blended with the black clothing, but didn't clash too much with his dirty blonde hair. He looked smooth as fuck. His gaze shifted to Krystal behind me. "Who is this?"

"This is Krystal," I said, stepping to the side and gesturing to her. "She is from Earth, as well. A dark mage."

Dylan nodded. "I see. Come in." I closed the door behind us, and scanned the room. More basic than Chrom's. The room was an entirely lighter colour, and the desk was smaller, with no inkwell or quill upon it. The bed had a bland green blanket, and was similar in size to the cot that I slept in at the Garrison back in Ylisse. "Take a seat anywhere." I sat down in the chair, Krystal sat on the bed, and Dylan leaned against the wall. "So where should we start?"

"Well," I clasped my hands together and set them in my lap, "Maybe we should introduce ourselves. Maybe our classes while we're at it?"

"Sounds good," Dylan said, nodding. "I'll start. My name is Dylan, I'm from Earth. Best I can tell, I'm a Laguz. Obviously, I am of the Bird Tribe, but I don't know if I'm Hawk or Raven." Hmm. I thought it was hawk, but then I also don't know my giant birds.

"I'll go next, then." I cleared my throat, saying, "My name is Zach. I'm from Minnesota. I am pretty sure that I'm a myrmidon."

"A-and I'm Krystal. I'm from, uh, Rhode Island. I am a dark mage, so I'm stuck with this humiliating outfit. It's good to know that I'm not alone in this world, though."

Dylan nodded. "Yes, I'm sure that we are all grateful to see others from Earth. I have a question," he said, raising a finger. "How long have the two of you been here?"

I thought for a moment, tilting my head back. "Um, I think two or three days, why?"

"And you, Krystal?"

"I think the same time."

Dylan nodded. "I was wondering if we all got here at the same time. I woke up way farther east of here. I flew here in hopes of meeting up with the Shepherds." He chuckled. "It seems like I arrived at a good time, too."

I nodded. "Yeah, you saved my ass. Thanks, again, for that." He waved the thought away. "Anyway," I continued, "I woke up closer to Southtown, and met with Chrom and the gang there. Helped them take down Garrick and the Risen on the way here."

"Sounds like you have the most battle experience, then." Dylan closed his eyes for a moment. "Krystal, what happened for you?"

"Um, I woke up in Ferox, past the border. Some guards found me an took me to the dungeon," she sulked. "They thought I was Plegian because I had a dark magic tome, and assumed I used teleportation or something to get past the border. It was awful."

"I thought it was weird when they told me someone managed to teleport past the wall." I didn't think anyone had that type of magic, at least not in Awakening. It would have been interesting, however. If teleportation could be used like it is by the witches in Gaiden, dark mages would have been even more useful. Sadly, I didn't think it existed. "Constant threat would make any one jump to conclusions."

"How were you freed?" Dylan asked, cocking his head to the side curiously.

"I just said she didn't look tan enough," I said simply, shrugging. "They bought it." The fact that Robin didn't question me further was a blessing. I didn't have anything else to get Krystal out. A silence followed, then Dylan cleared his throat.

"Now that introductions are out of the way," the Laguz said, "we should talk about… what we're going to do here." I raised my eyebrow. "I mean, in this world. What's our plan?"

I nodded. "Oh, I see what you mean. My plan, or lack thereof, was to just roll with the game's story and get to the end. Maybe that would get us back home."

"You think that would work?" Dylan asked and I shrugged. "And even if it did, we would have to wait two years." I nodded. Yeah, that was the issue. Plus, we would have to survive this war, the war with Valm AND the war with the Grimleal. We had our work cut out for us.

It was at this moment that I yawned, and caused a chain reaction of yawns. A wave of fatigue washed over me and I slouched. "Yeah, I've been thinkin' about it for the past few days. But it's really all I could think of."

"Yeah," Dylan yawned now, and covered his mouth. "I'll see if I can think of a quicker solution but, for tonight, it may be best if we go to sleep."

"Sounds good to me, man," I said, standing up and cracking my back. "Kryyyshtal, we should probably get you a room," my voice slurred with the yawn that Dylan's triggered. She nodded and stood up, waving to Dylan. I waved as well, opening the door. "Talk to you later, dude," I said. We left Dylan and made our way back to Chrom's room.

I knocked twice, but there was no response. I figured he was asleep now. He seemed pretty tired earlier. I was reluctant to knock harder, not quite wanting to tear him from the sweet embrace of sleep, but I did, albeit only with a slight increase in power. After a third try, only performed because I wanted to get Krystal a room, I gave up. Chrom was out.

"Well," I sighed, slumping my arms to my sides, "I have an idea." I was slowing down. I just wanted sleep at this point. "You can just have my room for tonight. I'll find somewhere else to sleep." She seemed hesitant to agree, but didn't actually protest. "If you want I can lead you there, if you'd like," I offered.

"Um, sure." I lead her to my room, labeled R-5, and handed her the key. "Thank you," she said, and unlocked the door. "Good…good night." I smiled and nodded. She began to close the door and I turned, walking away.

I knew I wasn't going to be able to convince myself to ask someone if I could bunk with them, so I wandered aimlessly around the halls. I found guard walking through the hall, lance strapped to his back. He had light blonde hair, in a hairstyle that I was a little surprised to see. It was cut short on the right side, but the left was long, tied up in a side ponytail. He was wearing the standard Feroxi armour, though. "Hey," I called, and he turned to face me. I saw that he had a scar under his right eye, but said nothing of it. "I, uh, lost the key to my room." Wow, such a creative lie. I was really breaking the mold with that one, huh? "Do you think there is a place I could sleep for just the night?"

The guard gave a look that displayed such utter distaste, I felt like an idea due to an awful lie. "How the hell did you manage to lose your key?" I shrugged, and he shook his head. "You're kind of an idiot, huh?"

I scowled at him. "Listen, man," I said, my temper growing. "I just want to know if there is a place I can sleep. I don't really care where it is."

He rolled his eyes, but jerked a thumb back behind him. "There's a library down that way. You could probably sleep in there." I begrudgingly thanked him, and started walking down the hall. Before he was out of earshot, I heard him mutter, "I don't see why you're getting so upset, though." I didn't turn around and cuss him out, despite how much I wanted to, and just continued toward the library.

I found it before long. I was a little disappointed that they didn't have the comfortable chairs I expected in the library, but this wasn't like the places back home. There were chairs, though. Wooden ones, like the one at Dylan's desk. I grabbed a few of them and pushed them together before dropping down and lying on them. It wasn't comfortable, but it was better than the floor. I was tired enough that it didn't matter, anyway, and dozed off easily. I was thankful to have a dreamless sleep once more.


End file.
